Bullet Journal | Testing White Pens

March 25, 2020March 14, 2020 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to a little discussion/testing bullet journal supplies, this time around I am testing different white pens. I know for me personally I always use a white pen to cover up mistakes or add some highlights to a doodle I added. I feel like the white pen has a lot of uses. I was using my go to one a gellyroll and I wondered to myself, is this one really the best? So I decided to compare a few of the ones that ones I see more frequently. Now, on to the white pens!

The Pens I Am Testing

Gelly Roll
Uniball
Pilot G2
Sarasa Clip

I just want to point out for the sake of this little experiment that I am using my Olive & Archer notebook. So, how a pen interactions with the paper will vary some depending on the color and type of paper. This is just my experience with the notebook I use.

As you can tell on the picture above I tested four different whjte pens in this experiment. I decided to write with them on white paper and then try and write on top of blank ink.

With the first part of this experiment, just writing with the pen you can see some show up more than others. The uniball and gelly Roll really hold their own in this regard, even on white paper you can still make out the writing. The other ones just dissapear to my eyes.

The second part of this experiment for me is the most important. I tend to use my white pen over areas I have already written on to either correct or decorate my bullet journal. For this test I just added a line of ink and let it dry for about 3 min., following this I decided to go over the area a few times. As you can see from the picture above, most of the white pens tended to lift the ink a bit. The only one that did not mix with the ink under it seemed to be the uniball pen. I was quite surprised since my previous go to with the gellyroll pens, but after this experiment with the ink I use the paper I use, it seems that uniball is the one that works best for me and my uses.

I suggest giving these a go in your own bullet journal and seeing what works best for your circumstances, but here are the results I have found for me personally.

What is your go to white pen?

Is there a different one that you use or a different one I should try?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Unboxing | Tombow VIP Club January 2020

January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 bookishluna3 Comments

Hello and welcome to a little unboxing of the Tombow VIP Club. I was not planning ordering and unboxing this today, but honestly Tombow loves to throw these boxes out randomly so here I am. I saw it in my email and I really loved what was inside so I ordered it. In the US this is $25 with free shipping. Now to unbox and see if it is worth the money! If this is still available you can find it here: Tombow VIP Club.

I just love how festive the box is when I opened it I needed to take a picture. It is so bright and color, just what I have needed with all of the long nights of winter. I truly miss the color of Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Here are the items inside the box, first the exclusive Tombow playing cards. I love playing solitaire in my free time so these were a really cute edition in my eyes. Also great for an unexpected card game with friends, these are said to be about $12.99. This is about on par with some nicer playing cards I have seen at the store. Next we have a new collection of their Dual Brush Pens called Celebration. This is a collection of 10 colors which include; 055, 452, 245,885, 723, 850, 026, 451, 743, and 925. This is said to be worth $26.99. I have used and loved thee Dual Brush Pens for a few years now, I personally really enjoy them. Lastly, we have MONO Drawing Pens in 6 different sizes; 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, and 08. I have not used this before, but I am really excited to give them a try. I feel like they would be great in my bullet journal! These are also said to be worth $16.99.

So, if you total all of that up this box is worth $56.97. Very much above the $25 price of the box. The Dual Brush Pens alone are the price of the box.

Here is a little peak into the cards, they are really beautiful cards and feature the work from the design team. It seems that each suit has its own artist, which is a wonderful way to showcase their team members and their talents.

Here is a swatch of all of the colors in the Celebration set as well as all of the MONO Drawing Pens. I am happy to report that none of them bleed through, which I was really thrilled about. Pens can be very tricky at times, but for reference I use Archer and Olive A5 dot grid notebook, so your experience might not be the same as mine if you use a different notebook.

Overall I am thrilled by this Tombow VIP Club box. For me it is a great deal, I get to try new things without putting out the full price. That is always something I worry about, spending money and buying something full price and it doesn’t work out. This really gives me a bit more confidence to go outside of my normal box and give something a go.

What did you think of this box?

What was your favorite time? Do you use any of these supplies?

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Let's Talk

Let’s Talk | Updated Annotating Kit

January 8, 2020January 6, 2020 bookishluna4 Comments

Let's Talk

Hello everyone! A few / a lot of *months* ago (sorry) I posted a poll on twitter to see if anyone was interested in an update on my current essentials for reading, reviewing, and annotating my books. I will say I was not really anticipating a yes, but it seems like it is something that at least a few people wanted to see. So, without more rambling, let’s get to business!

It has been over a year since I shared my review kit with you, would you like an update? A bunch has changed! https://t.co/sefK2KuPE5

— bookishluna (@BookishLuna) July 27, 2019

For a reference moving forward, in my previous post, my essentials were: bookmark, mini notebook, 2 mechanical pencils and post-it tabs. If you want some more detail, you can find that here: Writing | My Reading/Review Kit. I didn’t really have specific pencils or anything, but just whatever was available and I already had.

Over the course of nearly a year and a half I feel like a lot has changed when it has come to my review essentials. I feel like I whittled what I carry around and use because I carry so much around for my work. Since I am always carrying around a ton of things, I really tried to not add more, mainly to ensure I don’t break my back. While obviously a few pens and a mini notebook aren’t heavy, but every little thing adds up. Anyway, here are the things I carry around with me now.

My go to writing implement is no longer a pencil, but a pen. I came into the problem where things were getting smudged and I getting graphite everywhere! I now use a Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pen in the color Salmon. It is a light pink in color, which is a perfect combination of grabbing my attention when I go back to look at my notes, but not enough to be to distracting if I was to reread.

A few of the other things to go are my mini notebook, bookmark, and post it tabs. I realized that the mini notebook was not essential and with the lighter color pen I was able to write my notes in the margin or use a notecard, which I was inspired by Waving Fiction’s post, Why I Use Notecards in My Books. But, I only use a notecard in some books, where I realize I am writing a bit too much to fit on a margin. I do note the page number for my notes if I do use a notecard so I can refer back to a quite if my note doesn’t make sense when I look over them.

The last thing I want to mention is a little addition to my essentials and this would be a mini ruler. I was driving myself crazy with lines that went crooked or I accidentally wrote in the middle of a line, so I picked up a ruler. Now, the one I got is metal, but has cork on the underside so I don’t feel like it could hurt my book any, which is great. The best part is I carry it around anyway because I use one in my bujo too! If you want to check my bujo out, you can look at my spreads and such here: Projects: Bullet Journal.

Thanks so much for reading about my annotating supplies, I know it isn’t as much as it used to be, but this is what works for me! I also hope that this little explanation helps you find what works for you on your reviewing and annotating journey!